Seattle’s Earl Thomas voted top safety in AP rankings

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Seattle Seahawks free safety Earl Thomas, right, intercepts a pass intended for the Los Angeles Rams during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 8, 2017, in Los Angeles. Photo: Associated Press/Mark J. Terrill

DENNIS WASZAK Jr., AP Sports Writer

NEW YORK (AP) — Seattle’s Earl Thomas has been voted the NFL’s top safety in The Associated Press positional rankings.

The Seahawks’ playmaking defensive leader easily beat out Minnesota’s Harrison Smith and Kansas City’s Eric Berry for the No. 1 spot. The voting was conducted by Pro Football Hall of Famer James Lofton and 10 AP football writers.

Thomas received six of 11 first-place votes in a 10-points-to-one-point system. He placed second on three ballots and fourth on two for 101 total points.

Smith joined Thomas as the only players to appear on all 11 ballots. He tied Berry, who’s out for the season with a torn Achilles tendon, for second place with 73 points.

Smith, Berry, the Giants’ Landon Collins, Tennessee’s Kevin Byard and New England’s Devin McCourty each received a first-place vote. Collins finished fourth with 50 points while Byard and Philadelphia’s Malcolm Jenkins tied for fifth with 42 points.

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